I have an old '86 528e. It's an automatic, but I'm considering a summer project to switch it to manual. I know little about cars, so I'm not sure what amount of work/expertise is involved with something like that (though I'm assuming a lot). All I really have going for me is an enthusiasm to learn.
What do you think, is it suicide or a possibilty?
Transmission switch?
I did the 5-speed conversion on my '87 528e a couple of years ago. I documented EVERYTHING.
What you need to do is read the section on my site for the 5-speed swap. It's linked below. Read it, especially the intro page. If you feel like you can complete the conversion after looking through that section, then go for it!
http://www.oo00oo.com/tranny
There are plenty of people on there that have done the conversion that can help you as you go, if you decide to do it. Just don't plan on it being a weekend project!
What you need to do is read the section on my site for the 5-speed swap. It's linked below. Read it, especially the intro page. If you feel like you can complete the conversion after looking through that section, then go for it!
http://www.oo00oo.com/tranny
There are plenty of people on there that have done the conversion that can help you as you go, if you decide to do it. Just don't plan on it being a weekend project!
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Jordan528e
- Posts: 109
- Joined: Feb 12, 2006
I got stopped at step 1 =) Really what I'm looking for is an opportunity to learn more about car mechanics/gain some experience, with actual results being of less importance. I might try a "differential swap" (not really sure what that is) just as an introduction. Up to now the only things I have had to deal with is some minor electrical problems. Someday though I plan to return to your walkthrough and make an attempt at it, but not for a while.1) The first assumption is that, before beginning your own swap, you will be at the point in your personal mechanical career that you can at least do a rear differential swap. Doing anything that involves removing vital parts of your car and replacing them with something completely different requires an immense amount of knowledge, skill, and curse words (trust me on this one). If you don't understand basic mechanics, then this is NOT the learning experience you're looking for. May I suggest practicing your mechanical skill by performing a differential swap? If you can do one alone in less than 3 hours, you may have the skill to do the swap.
Jordan,
I am by no means on the level of a professional mechanic. I'm just a hack, and the guys that have been around for a while can tell you about some of my hack fixes I've done before!
When I did my tranny conversion, I had done a few diff swaps, some electrical / stereo work, oil changes, and a few other miscellaneous things. I had never even OWNED a manual transmissioned car, much less worked on one, when I did my swap.
It was a GREAT learning experience, and I can honestly tell you that I nearly doubled my knowledge of working on an E28 just by doing the transmission swap. I say it time and time again, but I do modifications and other work on my E28 for the project, not the ultimate outcome. I did the swap to learn and so that I could create a well-documented 5-speed swap. Not to knock Dave Kan's 5-speed swap page, but I felt like I didn't know as much about the 5-speed conversion after reading his site as I had wanted to.
But anyway, if learning is your main goal, then by all means go for it. Just be sure you have someone around you that can help you out when you get into trouble. I did my swap all by myself, and because of that it took me months! If I had it to do again, I could do it in a few days, no doubt. That's how far I came just after doing that swap.
Good luck!
I am by no means on the level of a professional mechanic. I'm just a hack, and the guys that have been around for a while can tell you about some of my hack fixes I've done before!
When I did my tranny conversion, I had done a few diff swaps, some electrical / stereo work, oil changes, and a few other miscellaneous things. I had never even OWNED a manual transmissioned car, much less worked on one, when I did my swap.
It was a GREAT learning experience, and I can honestly tell you that I nearly doubled my knowledge of working on an E28 just by doing the transmission swap. I say it time and time again, but I do modifications and other work on my E28 for the project, not the ultimate outcome. I did the swap to learn and so that I could create a well-documented 5-speed swap. Not to knock Dave Kan's 5-speed swap page, but I felt like I didn't know as much about the 5-speed conversion after reading his site as I had wanted to.
But anyway, if learning is your main goal, then by all means go for it. Just be sure you have someone around you that can help you out when you get into trouble. I did my swap all by myself, and because of that it took me months! If I had it to do again, I could do it in a few days, no doubt. That's how far I came just after doing that swap.
Good luck!